Eugene Weekly : News : 10.02.08

On Sept. 29 Congress and the public balked at a $700 billion dollar Wall Street bailout.

Local Congressman Peter DeFazio joined one-third of Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans (and a flood of callers to Capitol Hill) to vote against the bailout.

“I don’t believe we should borrow $700 billion in the name of the American taxpayers to throw money at Wall Street’s bad debts and cross our fingers and hope it will work,” DeFazio said. “If Wall Street needs a cash infusion, it should be paid for by Wall Street. We need something more targeted to average taxpayers.”

DeFazio called for a transfer tax of a quarter percent on securities that would generate $150 billion a year to have Wall Street pay for its own bailout. He also called for a “trickle up” bailout that would help the victims of predatory lending by renegotiating unfair loan terms to help them keep their homes.

DeFazio criticized the failed bailout bill as full of loopholes and weak language that would: not actually reign in Wall Streeat bonuses and golden parachutes; put taxpayer money at great risk with little guarantee of a payback; lack oversight and fixes for regulatory failures; and be vulnerable to profiteering by bailout speculators.